1965 – Andy Vertrees started his local racing career shortly after high school at Sportsdrome Speedway in Jeffersonville, Indiana. By 1969, he became a championship contender at Louisville’s Fairgrounds Motor Speedway in Figure Eight competition. He won Figure Eight divisional titles in 1972, 75, 77 and 79 at FMS and won the speedway’s premier annual event the “Tri-State Figure Eight” in 1972, 73, 75 and 78. He was the speedway’s only 4-time winner of those titles. He was also a two-time Runner-Up in Late Model season championship standings (1976 & 77). He also served as president of the speedway’s Contenders Club.

1979 – Purchased an aging Kentucky Motor Speedway, a quarter mile banked asphalt facility. The speedway, located in Whitesville, Kentucky, 12 miles southeast of Owensboro is the track where NASCAR star, Darrell Waltrip began his racing career several years earlier. Under Vertrees’ ownership, the speedway saw many improvements to the facility and by 1985 became a NASCAR Weekly Racing Series track. From 1979 through 1987, Mr. Vertrees produced such future NASCAR stars as 2-Time Daytona 500 winner Micheal Waltrip, NASCAR Busch Series (now Nationwide Series) stars David, Jeff and Mark Green. David and Jeff eventually won championships in the series. NASCAR Sprint Cup Series star Jeremy Mayfield began his racing career at the speedway while under Vertrees’ ownership. The track hosted an annual “homecoming” for Darrell Waltrip each season as well as touring series events for the NASCAR All American Challenge Series.

1983 – Mr. Vertrees leased and operated Charlestown Speedway, a semi-banked 1/3 mile dirt track located 30 minutes northeast of Louisville, Kentucky in Charlestown, Indiana. The track was paved with a Figure Eight course when Vertrees took over and he operated the track concurrently with his Whitesville facility through the 1987 season. As promoter, Mr. Vertrees implemented a cost effective Late Model stock car division and added two entry level classes. The track became a member of the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series and hosted the NASCAR All American Challenge Series.

1987 – Mr. Vertrees sold his interest in Kentucky Motor Speedway and completed his lease agreement with Charlestown Speedway before breaking ground on Louisville Motor Speedway. The facility was located on approximately 40 acres located on the south side of the city near Interstate 65. Mr. Vertrees broke ground in October of 1987 and the compound banked 1/3 – mile facility with Figure Eight course opened on June 22, 1988. The speedway was a member of the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series and seated 8,000 in permanent grandstands with an indoor VIP suite. Operating on Friday and Saturday nights the speedway showcased six racing divisions. During it’s first two seasons, the speedway hosted NASCAR’s Busch Series (now Nationwide Series). The NASCAR All American Challenge (later All Pro) Series were also annual events. A second indoor VIP Suite with seating for 120 was added in 1993 outside Turn One. The speedway was enlarged in 1994 and became a “D” shaped .485 mile track while keeping the original 1/3- mile with Figure Eight course. The speedway attracted NASCAR’s new nationally televised Craftsman Truck Series in 1995 through 2001. The speedway also hosted events for the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA), United States Auto Club (USAC) and American Speed Association (ASA) as well as the United States Auto Racing (USAR) Hooters Pro Cup while introducing the United Midwest Promoters (UMP) Dirt Late Models for the first time on asphalt. The speedway produced such stars as 9-Time ARCA Series Champion Frank Kimmel, NASCAR All Pro Series and Craftsman Truck Series star Scot Walters and CRA Late Model Series Champion Chuck Barnes Jr.. The speedway hosted 35 outdoor music concerts including Billy Ray Cyrus (50,000 attendance) and Garth Brooks (30,000 attendance).

1998 – Mr. Vertrees became a consultant on the newly announced Kentucky Speedway, a 1.5 mile super speedway planned for Sparta, Kentucky, 35 miles southwest of Cincinnati, Ohio. He worked diligently with the speedway’s seat licensing program while adding corporate support from Louisville area businesses through networking operations with his Louisville Motor Speedway. In 1999 he was named Operations Manager and appointed to the construction site to oversee the day to day construction of the facility and was involved in the speedway’s lay-out and design. He sold his interest in Louisville Motor Speedway to Kentucky Speedway’ ownership group as well as the Craftsman Truck Series event re-direction to the Sparta facility. Mr. Vertrees also helped attract the Indy Racing League (IRL) as well as the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) in securing dates at the new facility.

2000- Mr. Vertrees role began to expand as the speedway’s construction neared completion to overseeing security staff, traffic coordinator, on-track safety staff and facility weekly maintenance. On June 17th, 2000, Kentucky Speedway had a successful opening to over 63,000 spectators for it’s first innaugural event, the “Kroger 200” for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. During 2001, Kentucky Speedway added NASCAR’s Busch Series (now Nationwide Series) as the track’s premier event and the speedway’s ownership group decided to permanently close Louisville Motor Speedway, eventually selling the property to other investors.

2005 – Mr. Vertrees became a member of the consulting staff and operations manager for the proposed Iowa Speedway, a Rusty Wallace signature track. The speedway located in Newton, Iowa is a 7/8th mile tri-oval with a drag strip designed for annual touring series events. Mr. Vertrees was responsible for each phase of the construction project being completed in a timely fashion and circumventing any perceived operational issues in the design process. The track opened in September 2006 with the Soy Biodiesel 250 USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series. The Indy Racing League announced a race there on June 24, 2007, the Iowa Corn Indy 250. The track was awarded a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race in 2008, and a Nationwide Series race for 2009. An agreement has been reached with the IRL that will see three more years racing at Iowa from 2009 onwards.

2007 – Following a successful opening of Iowa Speedway and completion of it’s second year of operations, Mr. Vertrees returned to his home in the Commonwealth of Kentucky as a project manager for Bluegrass Motorsports Park and Race Course near Sparta, in northern Kentucky. Mr. Vertrees oversaw the construction of the roadcourse as project manager for designer, Formula One legend Derek Daly. Bluegrass accommodates a variety of motorsports events for cars, karts, and motorcycles, starting at the grassroots and ranging from high-performance driving & riding schools and club racing to the upper echelon of sanctioned events and pro racing. The track is on schedule for a successful opening in the Spring of 2009.

History